Combines have been used to cut field crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat, other small grains and the like for many years. Since the end of World War II, the equipment used for mechanized farming has been steadily developing to meet the advancing needs of farmers. As field acreages have been increased, larger and larger combines have been designed and manufactured to provide farmers with combines having greater harvesting capacity.
Combines presently in use generally require sickle bars or knifebacks which range in length from about 5 to about 30 feet. The sickle bars support cutting sections or blades which reciprocate back and forth across the front of the combine within a header, thereby cutting crops as they enter the header.
Unfortunately, although combines with longer sickle bars generally provide for greater harvesting efficiency, longer sickle bars are difficult to handle. The longer they are, the more difficult they are to handle during manufacturing, storing and shipping. Sickle bars having lengths greater than about 6-9 feet are difficult to store because the longer lengths make them hard to move in and out of storage areas. Furthermore, it is difficult for a single individual to handle them. For instance, if a 6 foot sickle bar was being moved from one place to another, a single individual could easily move it without assistance. If a 30 foot sickle bar needs to be moved from one place to another, however, the size of the rooms and the angles of the doors through which the sickle bar must pass, must be such that they are able to accommodate a 30 foot sickle bar. Furthermore, moving such a long object would almost certainly require the efforts of more than one individual.
Handling problems also make it very difficult to manufacture, display and ship the larger sickle bars. Indeed, virtually all common carriers have limits on the size of the items which they will agree to ship. For instance, United Parcel Service (UPS) will not ship items having a length of greater than 108 inches (9 feet). Therefore, if a manufacturer is to ship a sickle bar having a length greater than 9 feet, special arrangements must be made. Because sickle bars having greater than normal length are also frequently damaged during shipping and storage, these arrangements must receive careful consideration.
It will be appreciated, therefore, that although longer sickle bars allow farmers to harvest their crops with greater efficiency with respect to time, the need for longer sickle bars increases the costs associated with all phases of handling such items. For this reason, a need exists for a sickle bar that, while suitable for use in the larger combines, can be handled in a more cost effective manner. It will be appreciated, however, that this need must be met without diminishing the quality of the sickle bars being used such that other inefficiencies are created.
The present invention addresses these and other problems associated with the production and handling of sickle bars for use with a variety of combines requiring sickle bars of various lengths. The present invention also offers other advantages over the prior art, and solves other problems associated therewith.